We have dishwashers for dishes and washing machines for most clothes, so how do you clean your shoes? Turns out LG has been working on something for that.
Depending on how much you value your shoes, you may take to cleaning them very differently from other people.
You might store them in boxes away from people, or keep them in a wardrobe that you can walk into and gaze at your collection. You could even have them on display, showing the world just how awesome your feet look even when the shoes aren’t presently on them.
If you find yourself in that back category, or maybe even interested to after reading that line, LG could well have an appliance for you, as it announces a dedicated shoe cleaning appliance complete with a shoe showcasing furniture with a rather appropriate name.
One of the many things LG is launching at IFA 2022 this year, the LG Styler ShoeCare and ShoeCase are connected appliances in much the same way that a washing machine and dryer are connected, and one of them even performs a similar function, though these are not made for most garments like a washer and dryer. Rather, the LG ShoeCare and ShoeCase are made entirely for shoes, much as the name suggests.
The appliances are two separate units, with the ShoeCare offering a locker-style of design incorporating steaming technology and moving nozzles to use steam to refresh shoes of multiple material types, covering leather, suede, and sporty fabrics. LG touts cleaning up to four pairs of shoes in a standard 37 minute cycle, supporting up to 10 cycles and able to clean shoes with two types of materials at once.
Going on the description, the idea sounds similar to something Samsung launched a couple of years ago that allowed you to steam clean garments in your home using an appliance made almost like a compact dry cleaning service for your room. LG already uses steam technology in its washing machines, so this seems like an adaptation of that made for shoes.
That takes care of the cleaning, but if you want to showcase the shoes, LG has a showcase named the “ShoeCase”. This is basically a shelf for shoes where each shoe box is protected by transparent panels and on display, and able to rotate on as 360 degree rotating turntable.
The design is modular and appears to cover three shoe boxes in a row, though LG says four ShoeCase racks can be stacked on top of each other, making for storage and display of 12 pairs of shoes, almost like they were art.
While they can connect to the LG Styler ShoeCare, we’ve not heard if the ShoeCase cleans the shoes at all.
Instead it seems to be there more as an aside, with the two connecting in design, but less so in function. LG does say that its ThinQ app — which also works on TVs and other appliances — will allow you to remotely monitor both the ShoeCase and ShoeCare, but hasn’t quite said what the app will bring.
And there’s also no word on pricing or availability in Australia, much in line with other announcements being made at IFA this week. However, if you’re someone with a big collection of fancy sneakers and such, and aren’t afraid to drop cash on keeping them clean or on display, we suspect you mightn’t care how much it costs if or when the LG ShoeCare launches locally.
